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Friday, May 14, 2004

Permanent Seat for Germany on Securit Council
From Reuters:
Germany’s application for a permanent seat on an enlarged UN Security Council would not be vetoed by the US, a German newspaper reported on Thursday, citing unnamed sources in the German government.

Germany, a major contributor to the UN budget, plans to apply for a seat on the Council either later this year or early next year.

Schroeder says that a seat would be appropriate for Germany as it takes a more prominent role in world affairs. Because of its opposition to the war in Iraq, the US had threatened to veto Germany's application.

Posted by: Nathanael / 8:33 AM : (2) comments

2 Comments:

NDR,
What preciseley is determining Security Council membership these days? Population? Weaponry? Influence?

With France, Russia, and the UK aready aboard, and soon Germany on the council, how many more powerful Euro states will apply for permanent seats? Poland? Turkey?

Why not just have a single EU permanent seat on the Security Council?

GeekLethal

By Anonymous Anonymous, at 2:01 PM  

Good question: the UN is still an organization that represents and organizes states, having relationships with supranational organizations but not giving them representation. An EU seat might seem expedient and simpler, but the executive powers of European council are underdeveloped. The presidency is not (yet) elected directly; it rotates to another nation's head of state every six months. When it will come into possession of nations who support disorganization of the union (Britain and Spain) it would like negate the presence of an EU seat. On top of that, two nations would be (at different times) doubly represented: Britain and France.

A Polish seat? Few European states match Germany's political and economic importance, or its contribution to the UN. The next most likely candidate for a seat would be India ... in fact, giving a seat to India is far more pressing than Germany.

By Anonymous Anonymous, at 9:08 AM  

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